


Left Behind

by theinsandoutsofcastiel



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 12:33:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13146804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theinsandoutsofcastiel/pseuds/theinsandoutsofcastiel
Summary: Summary: The Reader is on their way to work when they see a blue police box that looks oddly familiar.





	Left Behind

Warnings: Angst, implied smut

Fic:

The blue box on the corner of the street catches your eye. It hadn’t been there when you got off of work yesterday and you can’t distinctly remember ever seeing it before, but somehow it looks familiar. You don’t know why, but it reminds you of home. It sounded silly, even in your head, but you were drawn to the oddity nonetheless.

Crossing the street, you make your way to the blue box and examine it. You trail your hand along the wood as you circle the phone box, trying to figure out why it looked so familiar. It was almost like something inside was calling out to you. When you reach the doors, you try to open it in order to have a look, but a hand catches your wrist, stopping you.

“What the-?” you begin, trying to pull your wrist away from the stranger. His grip is too tight.

“You shouldn’t be here,” the man informs you, “Hell, I shouldn’t even be here.” You narrow your eyes at the man. He had funny ears and was dressed in a battered leather jacket, and he was just as oddly familiar as the phone box.

“Who are you?” you ask him.

“Nobody,” he answers, “It’s best if you go.” There was a look of regret in his eyes, guilt written all over his face. His grip on your wrist loosens, but he doesn’t release you.

“I know you,” you tell him. You try to look into his eyes, but he avoids your gaze. His face was so familiar and yet you couldn’t place him. In your heart, you knew this man, but it felt like ages had passed since you last saw him.

“No, you don’t,” he corrects you.

“Yes, I do,” you insist, “You - I can’t think, why can’t I remember your name?”

“Because you don’t know me,” he tells you.

“It’s not a name,” you mutter to yourself, trying to force yourself to remember, “It’s more of a profession.”

“I don’t know who you are, but I don’t want you here,” the man says harshly, “Go to work and leave me alone.”

“Fine,” you snap, taken aback. You tear your wrist away from his hand and spin on your heel to walk away. As you do, you brush your fingers against the blue box one last time and that’s when it hits you.

It’s like static at first as the jolt of electricity sparks between the box and your fingers, the images blurred and incoherent. You stop mid-step as the images become clearer. There he was, the same man, extending his hand to you and telling you to run.

You remembered the adventures you had in the TARDIS, traveling through space and time to save civilizations and planets. Then you saw yourself dancing with him. There were times he seemed so full of regret and yet others when he seemed like he could be the happiest man alive. You were there through it all, or you had been until the Doctor forced you out of his life.

A new memory flicks through your mind. The first time he said he loved you, the first time you said it back. You saw the first time you kissed him and the first time that kissing him lead to something more. The way he held you that night, like he never planned on letting go, it made you wonder why he did. What change to make him force you away?

“Doctor,” you whisper.

“Sorry?” he asks from behind you, not able to hear the word you’d just muttered under your breath.

“Doctor,” you repeat louder. Turning on your heel, you slap him hard across his face.

“Ouch,” he protests, cupping his cheek in his hand and trying to relieve the sting. He takes a step back, trying to create distance, which you promptly close.

“You promised!” you shout, “You promised me that you would never leave me behind, but you did; and worse than that, you made me forget. How could you do that? How could you lie to me?”

“Y/N, I didn’t -” he tries to explain, but you don’t give him the chance.

“You stuck me in this place and forced me to live a life I never wanted,” you continue, tears beginning to roll down your cheeks, “You made me believe that there wasn’t anything better out there for me. I hate you!”

The Doctor rubs the back of his neck and casts his eyes down, avoiding looking you in the eye as well as the passerbys who were giving the two of you looks. As soon as your last three words passed your lips, you instantly regretted them. Even though he avoids looking at you, you can see the pain written all across his face.

“I’m sorry,” you apologize, “I didn’t mean that, I don’t hate you. I’m just angry.”

“Let’s not do this here,” the Doctor finally says. Opening the door of the TARDIS, he ushers you inside. Even being upset, you couldn’t help but smile at the sight of the TARDIS’s control room. The familiar hum was comforting, even if the Doctor was breaking your heart.

“I didn’t want to leave you behind,” the Doctor tells you.

“Yeah? Then why did you do it?” you ask, arms wrapped around your waist.

“To protect you,” the Doctor says, “I’ve seen so much death, Y/N, I couldn’t stand to lose you too. Do you remember, on our last adventure, what happened?”

“The creature we were fighting, it almost killed me,” you answer, acknowledging how bad that sounded.

“Yes, and when it didn’t, the creature hunted you through space and time, trying over and over again to take your life,” the Doctor explains, “I couldn’t let that happen.”

“So you left me here, defenseless,” you summarize.

“No,” he answers quickly, “Well, yes, but no. The creature had attached itself to your memories and was tracking you through them. I erased your memory so that the creature couldn’t track you and put you here, where I thought it was safe. Once I did that, I created an AI of you and programmed if to contain your memories so that the creature would continue to follow me instead of you. I never would have left you if I thought it would put you in danger, I swear it. As soon as I defeated the creature, the TARDIS brought me here and refuses to let me leave.”

“Why didn’t you give me my memories back as soon as you saw me?” you ask him, thankful that at least the TARDIS wanted you back. Even if the Doctor didn’t love you anymore, the TARDIS was still your friend. She was the one who came back for you, the one who gave you back your memories.

“Because I saw the life you created here and thought you were better off without me in it,” he admits.

“You … you idiot,” you accuse, “You’re so smart and yet sometimes you’re a complete fool.”

“I’m sorry,” he says. You take a step closer to him and cup his cheek forcing him go look you in the eye.

“I chose this life,” you tell him, “Traveling with you, you have no idea how happy it makes me, how happy you make me.”

“I’ve missed you more than you know,” the Doctor tells you, his arms wrapping around your waist, “And if you’ll still have me I’ll never leave you like that again, I promise.”

“Fantastic,” you answer, making him grin.

“I love you,” he tells you, pulling you in tighter. You drape your arms over his shoulders and rest your forehead against his.

“I love you too,” you tell him, leaning in to capture his lips.


End file.
